16 students killed in Utumishi Girls Academy dormitory fire

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba has confirmed that sixteen students have died while 79 others were injured following a tragic dormitory fire at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County.

The fire broke out at around 12:45am, prompting an emergency response from rescue teams and local authorities.

Ogamba said the injured students were rushed to hospital for treatment after the incident.

“And we woke up with the sad news of a fire incident at this girls’ school, where at about 12:45 am a fire broke out in one of the dorms on the second floor,” Ogamba said.

“The dorm is completely destroyed, together with a lot of injuries to our learners and unfortunately, we lost some of our learners in that incident. Out of the 79 students who were injured, 71 have since been treated and discharged, while seven remain admitted in hospital,” Ogamba said.

He noted that the school has a total population of 815 students. At the time of the incident, 808 girls were present in the school, while seven were away for various reasons.

Migos noted that the process of accounting for all the students is ongoing through investigators as authorities continue to piece together the events surrounding the incident.

“Out of 808 girls, 79 were injured. 71 have been treated and discharged while 7 remain admitted. We have 16 fatalities whose identities will be identified. The process of accounting is taking place,” said CS Ogamba